Ornithology in Special Collections

Netlje Blanchan describes some of the familiar birds of the eastern US. The book includes colored photographs of stuffed birds and an introduction by John Burroughs.

Reed covers all the birds regularly occurring in the western US, including arctic species. Each species is illustrated and information is provided on nesting and range. The guide includes both observational field marks and tips for in-hand identification.

Part of three book series by Ashbrook, this guide covers "diving birds, swimmers, herons, storks, ibises, marsh dwellers, shore birds, pigeons and doves, birds of prey, cuckoos and woodpeckers."

Part of three book series by Ashbrook, this guide covers "goatsuckers, swifts, etc., perching birds, including the tyrant flycatchers, larks, crows and jays, starlings, Icteridae, and finches." The majority of songbirds appear in Ashbrook's "The green book of birds of America."

Part of three book series by Ashbrook, this guide covers "tanagers, swallows, waxwings, shrikes, vireos, warblers, pipits dippers, mimic thrushes, wrens, nuthatches, and creepers, titmice, wren tits, kinglets, gnatcatchers, and thrushes."

Often thought of as the first field guide to birds, this book has had a huge, lasting influence in the American birding community since its original publication in 1934. Peterson's portable guide emphasized observational identification through the use of field marks. It included all the region's birds in their different plumages and was structured so that illustrations of each species could be easily referenced. In addition to this copy from 1939, Special Collections also owns a 1947 edition.

This is the first published field guide to the birds of Mexico. It is illustrated with line-drawings by Douglas E. Tibbitts.

With a mix of color and black-and-white plates, this fully-illustrated guide includes 459 species. The introduction is written by Roger Tory Peterson.

The work of a married couple stationed by the British Foreign Office in Saigon during the Vietnam War, this guide was originally written for the authors' personal use. Despite the context of its creation, the text makes no mention of the war.

Surprisingly and in all seriousness, the author of this bird guide is the namesake of Ian Fleming's legendary 007.

This illustrated guide to the birds of Taiwan is written in Chinese with English headings. It includes 390 species.

Part of the St. Martin's Press' Golden Guide series, this guide details the full scope of American birds north of Mexico. Special Collections also owns a revised edition published in 2001.

Part of St. Martin's Press' Golden Guide series, this beautifully-illustrated guide is intended for beginning birders. It covers the common birds of the eastern US. Special Collections also owns a revised edition published in 2001.